2023 NCAA Tournament Final Four Betting
This is the most surprising Final Four we’ve ever seen in the NCAA Tournament. For just the third time ever, there are zero No. 1 seeds in the Final Four, and there are no top three seeds in the Final Four for the first time ever. UConn is looking to win its fifth national championship and is the favorite to win it all as the other three teams are making their Final Four debuts. San Diego State, Miami, and Florida Atlantic were all 38-1 or more to win the title after making the Sweet 16, and all three teams pulled off upsets in the last two rounds to reach this point.
Check the latest NCAA Basketball Betting Lines today!
Date: Saturday, April 1
Location: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
(9) FAU vs. (5) San Diego State - 6:09 PM (ET)
Florida Atlantic +2
San Diego State -2
Total: 131.5
Money Line: Florida Atlantic +115, San Diego State -135
Conference USA has had an incredible postseason. North Texas and UAB are in the NIT Final Four, and Florida Atlantic is in the NCAA Final Four. The Owls benefited from Fairleigh Dickinson beating Purdue in the Round of 64, but the Boilermakers were a flawed team with two freshmen guards that struggled to shoot the three. FAU has gone on to beat Tennessee and Kansas State, so they are a short underdog against San Diego State in the national semifinal.
The Aztecs play a lot of close, low-scoring games. They haven’t allowed more than 71 points in a game since January 31, and that defense came up clutch in wins over Alabama and Creighton. It’s likely to lead to the Under hitting in this game.
(4) UConn vs. (5) Miami - 8:49 PM (ET)
Miami Florida +5.5
Connecticut -5.5
Total: 150
Money Line: Miami Florida +207, Connecticut -250
The Miami Hurricanes are hoping to become the first No. 5 seed to win the national championship. Everyone jumped on the Duke bandwagon as a No. 5 seed before the NCAA Tournament started, but it turned out that Miami and San Diego State were the two No. 5 seeds to back. The Hurricanes have a tall task ahead of them though since the Connecticut Huskies have defeated their average foe by 22.5 points.
NCAA Tournament Final Four Format
The Final Four is comprised of the remaining teams from the original 68-team field of the NCAA Tournament. After the First Four, the field is divided into four mini-brackets of 16 teams apiece, and the winner of each bracket goes on to reach the Final Four. The NCAA Selection Committee tries to reward the best teams with games closer to home, so that plays a part in the seeding. The brackets are broken up into the East Regional, the Midwest Regional, the South Regional, and the West Regional.
Most All-Time Final Four Appearances
SCHOOL |
APPEARANCES |
RECORD |
North Carolina |
21 |
12-9 |
UCLA |
19 |
13-5 |
Kentucky |
17 |
12-5 |
Duke |
17 |
11-6 |
Kansas |
16 |
10-6 |
Louisville |
10 |
3-7 |
Ohio State |
10 |
5-5 |
Michigan State |
9 |
3-6 |
Indiana |
8 |
6-2 |
Michigan |
8 |
7-1 |
Connecticut |
6 |
8-1 |
Arkansas |
6 |
2-4 |
Oklahoma State |
6 |
3-3 |
Houston |
6 |
2-6 |
Syracuse |
6 |
3-3 |
Villanova |
6 |
3-3 |
One of the most appealing characteristics of the Final Four is that history beckons. It is one of the most tradition-rich events in all sports. The North Carolina Tar Heels, UCLA Bruins, Kentucky Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils, and Kansas Jayhawks are college basketball's blue bloods. Their name-brand status is partially based on their record-setting Final Four appearances.
To this day, these programs are the most prominent name brands on the board. Many gamblers will bet on them based on this Final Four history. As a result, oddsmakers often have to add a few points to the price on this Mount Rushmore of college basketball.
Final Four Appearances (1985)
SCHOOL |
APPEARANCES |
Duke |
14 |
North Carolina |
13 |
Kansas |
11 |
Kentucky |
8 |
Michigan State |
7 |
Connecticut |
6 |
Villanova |
6 |
UCLA |
5 |
Florida |
5 |
Michigan |
5 |
Syracuse |
5 |
Arizona |
4 |
Louisville |
4 |
Arkansas |
3 |
Indiana |
3 |
Ohio State |
3 |
Oklahoma |
3 |
UNLV |
3 |
Wisconsin |
3 |
Gonzaga |
2 |
Butler |
2 |
Georgetown |
2 |
Georgia Tech |
2 |
Illinois |
2 |
LSU |
2 |
Maryland |
2 |
Memphis |
2 |
Oklahoma State |
2 |
Baylor |
1 |
Houston |
1 |
Cincinnati |
1 |
George Mason |
1 |
Loyola-Chicago |
1 |
Marquette |
1 |
Massachusetts |
1 |
Minnesota |
1 |
Mississippi State |
1 |
Oregon |
1 |
Providence |
1 |
Seton Hall |
1 |
South Carolina |
1 |
St. John's |
1 |
Stanford |
1 |
Texas |
1 |
Utah |
1 |
VCU |
1 |
West Virginia |
1 |
Wichita State |
1 |
It’s no surprise to see the four biggest blue bloods in college basketball lead the list of the basketball programs with the most appearances in the Final Four. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky are clearly in a league of their own when it comes to hoops success, and these are the only four programs with at least 2,000 wins in school history. In fact, the team with the fewest wins of that foursome (Duke) has almost 300 more wins than the next closest team (Temple).
Record by Seed in NCAA Tournament Final Four
SEED |
ALL-TIME RECORD |
1 |
37-24 |
2 |
12-19 |
3 |
11-5 |
4 |
3-10 |
5 |
3-3 |
6 |
2-1 |
7 |
1-2 |
8 |
4-2 |
9 |
0-1 |
10 |
0-1 |
11 |
0-5 |
12 |
0-0 |
13 |
0-0 |
14 |
0-0 |
15 |
0-0 |
16 |
0-0 |
One of the most interesting things to note in the Final Four is how much better No. 3 seeds have been than No. 2 seeds at this point. Both No. 2 seeds that reached the Final Four last year (Duke and Villanova) fell in the Big Easy on Saturday, making that disparity even larger.
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